Sen. Gounardes: White House Executive Order to Reform School Lockdown Drills Underscores Need for My Legislation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: SEPTEMBER 27, 2024
New York State Senator Andrew Gounardes released the following statement today in response to the Biden-Harris Administration’s Executive Order to reduce gun violence, which includes plans to improve school-based active shooter drills:
“The Biden-Harris Administration’s new Executive Order on gun violence is an important and much-needed step toward addressing a public health crisis that has taken far too many lives here in Brooklyn and across the country. I’m particularly grateful that the Executive Order instructs federal agencies to help schools improve lockdown drills so they’re age-appropriate and help prepare students for an active shooter situation while minimizing trauma.
“This proposal mirrors what I—along with leading gun safety advocates and mental health advocates—have long believed: our current approach to school lockdown drills is doing more to traumatize kids than keep them safe. That’s why I introduced legislation to reform and right-size the lockdown drill mandate here in New York. State law currently requires schools to conduct four drills a year—more than 46 other states. My bill would change the minimum to two, while giving schools the complete freedom to conduct more if they want. Other states, including Connecticut and New Jersey, have already taken similar steps.
“As the father of two young kids, I know the safety of our children is everything. That’s why it’s so important these drills happen in a trauma-informed, age-appropriate way that includes accommodations for students with disabilities, PTSD, and other needs. It’s time to prioritize quality over quantity when it comes to lockdown drills, and do everything we can to ensure our kids are truly safe."
Background:
The Biden-Harris Administration’s Executive Order directs “the Secretary of Education and the Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Attorney General, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the U.S. Surgeon General, to develop and publish, within 110 days, information for K-12 schools and institutions of higher education regarding school-based active shooter drills.
“The information will include a summary of: existing research on active shooter drills and resources for school districts and institutions of higher education on how to create, implement, and evaluate evidence-informed active shooter drills; how to conduct effective and age- and developmentally-appropriate drills; how best to communicate with students, families, and educators about these drills; how to prevent students and educators from experiencing trauma or psychological distress associated with these drills; and how best to serve people with disabilities and those with language-related needs, including by ensuring compliance with federal civil rights laws, when designing and implementing school-based active shooter drills.”
Senator Gounardes’ legislation (S6537A) would right-size the lockdown drill mandate, reducing it from four per year to two, which would align New York with other states. Schools would have the complete freedom to conduct more drills if they want to. It would also build upon recently-approved regulations to create a trauma-informed approach that includes accommodations for students with PTSD, anxiety, and disabilities, as well as an age-appropriate explanation of the drills for students, comprehensive and consistent training for teachers, and advance notice to both parents and teachers that the drills will be occurring.
This approach is supported by leading health experts and gun safety advocates, including Moms Demand Action, New Yorkers Against Gun Violence (NYAGV), Everytown for Gun Safety, Teachers Unify to End Gun Violence, NAMI-NYS, Mental Health Association in New York State, the New York Association of School Psychologists, the New York State School Workers Association, Advocates for Children of New York, March for Our Lives youth group, the NYS American Academy of Pediatrics and the New York State School Counselor Association.
Press Contact:
Billy Richling
Communications Director
State Senator Andrew Gounardes
billy@senatorgounardes.nyc
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